*New to Dolphin* Is this laptop ok?

09-27-2016, 11:11 AM #1

Acer Aspire E 15
6th Generation Intel Core i5-6200U Processor (Up to 2.8GHz)
15.6-inch Full HD Display, NVIDIA GeForce 940MX with 2GB DDR5 VRAM
8GB DDR4 Memory, 256GB SSD

As topic states, I am new to Dolphin. How well will this work, or rather what wouldn't work? What would be my best option as far as laptops are concerned to run most games well? Thanks for any help in advance.

Edit: My main intent is to play Gamecube games, mostly Paper Mario, Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Zelda games, Pikmin, Lord of the Rings, and other various RPGs. Maybe a couple Wii games as well (Super Paper Mario, Mario Bros. Wii, Mario Kart).
I've looked at various other computers, particularly those with specs matching those I saw in the FAQ on dolphin-emu.org, but wanted to see if anyone could help further point me in the right direction.

***Shonumi*** · 09-27-2016, 11:54 AM #2

It's a fairly decent laptop for lighter games. I suspect you won't have much trouble with the games you listed, but do note that minor slowdowns could crop up. The i5-6200U should do fine under most circumstances, but it technically is an ultra-low voltage CPU, meaning it's designed to consume less electrical power at the expense of computing power. So, regular CPUs from Intel around the same speed would technically perform better. As it concerns Dolphin, as long as you don't try some of the more "heavy" games, you should get by. I don't see an issue with the GPU either. Should play a lot of stuff in HD without slowdowns, I think (not 100% sure, but more sure than not sure).

The only game on that list that worries me is MK Wii. It can get demanding sometimes (notably when you're doing local split-screen multiplayer) but nothing else strikes me as especially difficult on the CPU or GPU, not stuff that would affect the entire gameplay experience.

**KHg8m3r** · 09-27-2016, 01:13 PM #3

I would recommend this dell instead: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7559-laptop
Has a good cooling solution so your computer won't throttle itself, a great CPU for Dolphin, and a good GPU to be able to make them look nice. It's only slightly more expensive than the Acer Aspire E 15 by ~$200

EagerStallion · 09-27-2016, 10:54 PM #4

I'm playing Twilight Princess at 30FPS (max) on a Lenovo Thunkpad E565, at 2x render and antialiasing 4x, you should have no problems.

**KHg8m3r** · 09-28-2016, 01:52 AM #5

What happens when you turn off the Hyrule Speed patch?

**Admentus** · (This post was last modified: 09-28-2016, 06:07 AM by Admentus.)

If it is Mario Kart Wii that worries you, there might be a solution. Super David posted a while ago FPS codes for Mario Kart Wii. The codes work on the NTSC-U version, but might not work for PAL or NTSC-J. The codes shown below are AR Codes.

Code:

$60FPS in Multiplayer [Nick Reynolds]

004250D4 00000001

0029FD69 00000000

$Always 30FPS [Nick Reynolds]

004250D4 00000002

0029FD69 00000002

The first code allows for Mario Kart Wii to run at 60 FPS when using 3 or 4 players which normally causes the FPS to be capped at 30. Playing solo or with two players is already set at 60 FPS. The second code is what perhaps make it more interesting for weaker systems. Instead of playing the game at 60 FPS when playing alone or with one friend it causes the FPS cap to be set 30 FPS instead, thus halving the FPS, which hopefully should lower the load for weaker systems.

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)